Great Falls, great hopes for Paterson as site becomes a national park

The Great Falls in Paterson will be a national parkAfter initial approval last week, President Obama signed legislation today that will designate the Great Falls in Paterson a national park. The 77-foot waterfall is the second highest waterfall on the East Coast. People in Paterson are excited about what the national status could mean for Paterson. (Video by Jennifer Weiss/The Star-Ledger)

The designation of the Great Falls of Paterson as a national park this week was long overdue.

For years, Paterson native U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. had called for the legislation with the hopes that the city around it would be revitalized as well, and his persistence is to be commended.

The city of Paterson was founded by Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first treasury secretary, and under his leadership, the Great Falls helped power the American industrial revolution. It's an historic site worth preserving for its stunning beauty and significance to the nation's story. Now, millions in federal aid will help tell that story for future generations.

JOHN O'BOYLE/THE STAR-LEDGER Aerial view of the Great Falls in Paterson, which is due to become a national park.

"The interpretation is going to get better," said Ron Emrich, executive director of PreservationNJ. The model may well be Lowell, Mass., whose textile mills were an industrial powerhouse in the 19th century. National park designation helped save the old factories in Lowell not just as museums, but for income-producing uses as well, such as housing, retail and business offices.

Even in the best of times, preserving New Jersey's historic sites has not been easy. Emrich lamented the loss of the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, and the destruction of the Forney House in Milltown for a drive-thru bank. Small-town historic houses, usually owned by local historical societies, are collectively endangered. The state has provided funding to stabilize the buildings at Waterloo Village as it reviews private bids and proposals to reopen the site in some form.

The Great Falls was never in danger of being paved over for a parking lot. The risk to the magnificent site was its continued alienation from the economic recovery of a once-great city, to the detriment of both. Just as the falls once powered the engines of industry, the hope is that now it can be harnessed to inspire a rebirth in Paterson.